Research

The department of Biology supports the active engagement of students in the real work of science - in the classroom, in the field, and in the laboratory. Our curriculum is designed to involve students in the process of scientific discovery. Upper-level courses offer opportunities to plan and execute significant research projects, and to become skillful interpreters and presenters of research findings.

Many students work collaboratively with our faculty, engaging in active research in many areas of biological science. Clicking on the images below will take you to more information about each program.

	Project	Faculty
	Biofuels: A Viable Alternative to a Real Crisis The global community has become engulfed by the power of petroleum. Oil has served as a catalyst for technology as well as political and social instability throughout the producing countries. Those instabilities, together with negative health effects and the inevitable fate of a depleting and non-renewable resource have led the United States, among other nations, to the path towards a biofuels society. The primary replacements for gasoline and petrol diesel stand as ethanol and biodiesel.	Chris Kramer & Sam Toberman
	Energizing the Campus: The Future of the University of St. Thomas' Electrical System This document, done as a semester-long group capstone project, focuses on the future and alternatives to the conventional electrical system within the United States. To provide context to the future of electricity the history and rhetoric of the electrical industry are explored, following with a discussion of emerging alternatives. The alternative energy industry is discussed along with the most cost efficient and viable energy alternatives. This information is then applied to the University of St. Thomas (UST), in the form of a pilot electricity audit that looks at student consumption in one of the University dorms. Recommendations for more efficient electrical use at UST are provided along with suggestions for further research on energy alternatives and efficiency, and a large-scale audit at UST.	Robert Fisher, Emily Horth & Meghan Taffe